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Color Field

From Florence to Medellín: J Balvin x Carolina Bucci

Published on June 25, 2026 4 minutes read

Color Field

Craftsmanship, Design, Florence

Words by Shaad d’Souza

Part of the beauty of two artists like Bucci and Balvin working together is that they push each other to go even further; the new perspectives they bring are fuel to their creative flames, unlocking new potential and new insight.

Carolina Bucci and J Balvin were always supposed to meet. Though Bucci hails from Florence and Balvin from Medellín, the pair move through the world with the same relaxed confidence and passion for craft and irreverent design. Two creatives, each interested in working with equal parts classicism and subversion, and each possessing their own distinctly honed sense of style.

The story begins in 2018, when Balvin wandered into an Audemars Piguet boutique in Sardinia and discovered a limited-edition Royal Oak that Bucci had designed in her signature Florentine ‘frosted gold’ Finish. Attracted to the finesse and sparkle of the watch, Balvin knew he had to have it — and he had to meet whoever made it. “I followed her on Instagram, I DM’d her, I saw all of her art, her work… and the rest is history,” says Balvin. Adds Bucci, with a laugh: “I got that message and said: ‘J Balvin’ out loud, and my kids were like ‘He’s so cool!’ — and I’m like, I know.”

Nearly a decade later, Bucci and Balvin are now friends, and that friendship has become a collection. Comprising eight colourful pieces made in 18k gold, precious stones and — in a first for Bucci — titanium, J Balvin x Carolina Bucci perfectly marries the effusive, bold spirit of Balvin’s music with the design language and meticulous savoir-faire of Bucci’s jewelry.

Bucci and Balvin knew early on that there was something symbiotic about their personalities. Shortly after that first Instagram DM, Balvin invited Bucci and her family to Milan to see him perform; they hung out all day before the show, and forged a “very human connection,” says Bucci. Later down the track, Balvin went to Florence to see how Bucci and her team make their singular pieces in the original Bucci family workshop, established in 1885.

Creatively, the pair fed off each other quickly and freely — making the decision to collaborate an easy one. “When I love something, I’m never scared to ask to collaborate — the worst thing you can get is a no, and that’s not even as bad as you think,” says Balvin. “We were sitting in Milan and I’m like, why don’t you do camo jewelry? And I think that really resonated with both of us immediately — like, Carolina brought the aesthetic and the craft that she knows perfectly, but she also respected my idea to be like, let’s do this and make it cooler than anyone and just see how it goes.”

For Bucci, “the energy and curiosity that José has” made it a no-brainer when he asked to collaborate. “I’m very much like that as well, so I think it’s an instant, impactful thing,” she says. The other thing was that Balvin had connected so deeply to her Royal Oak — a watch designed for women. “Good design is good design — it should stand for itself, but we met through something I designed with me, a woman, in mind, and that José loved,” she says. That outside-the-box thinking sparked “the idea of letting someone into my creative world, which is not something I do at all, because I’m a bit of a control freak in that respect. But again — that energy, curiosity, perfectionism, detail-oriented focus, are all things we share, and that definitely aligned us.”

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The pieces are playful but exacting; Balvin’s take on Bucci’s classic Twister Luxe bracelets arrive in vibrant, multi-coloured camouflage patterns, set with pavé stones designed to reflect the spirit of Colombia. The bracelets slip easily on and off the wrist, a simplicity of use that belies the immense number of man-hours required to make each bracelet. The collection also introduces a Twister Luxe made in titanium, a technical obstacle that Bucci and her team used to push their fourth-generation legacy in elite craftsmanship even further.

Balvin says that he didn’t see any point in asking Bucci to explore new silhouettes — why would he? “Art is art, you know? You don’t have to be a specific gender to like Basquiat or Picasso — it’s just about whoever gravitates towards that certain energy or sense of expression,” he says. “When you see a really good piece, you don’t care if it’s big or small, you don’t care if you saw it on a man or a woman — you just want to have it.”

J Balvin wears the J Balvin x Carolina Bucci Color Field Bracelet and Florentine Finish Oval Huggy Earrings next to the River Arno.

If there was one moment that solidified the artistic connection and sense of camaraderie between Balvin and Bucci, it might have been when Balvin visited Bucci’s workshop in Florence to see the collaboration being made. “It was just mind-blowing — you see all these pieces, so beautiful on Instagram or in the stores,” Balvin says, “but then you see the people behind those pieces, working every day by hand… it makes me respect the artwork even more. You see how they do the Florentine Finish, or how they put the pieces together… You have to have a certain level of talent and patience. It was mind-blowing to see them work.”

That level of craft is perhaps best expressed in the collection’s most dazzling piece: the J Balvin edition of Carolina Bucci’s iconic Color Field bracelet — a double-sided woven pavé cuff that puts the camo theme of the collection on full display. Bucci says that seeing the Color Field bracelet on Balvin, as they walked around Florence on the cloudiest, moodiest day of the year, felt like magic. “Jewelry for me is not what you see on a screen or a website — it comes alive when you put it on,” she says. “Seeing José wearing it around the city, and sitting in the workshop trying to practice the Florentine Finish, was incredible.”

Bucci says that whatever she and Balvin do together next, it will be something unexpected. “It’s not about creating the same thing — it’s about giving the audience something new and a bit surprising, which I think is what’s exciting about collaboration,” she says. Part of the beauty of two artists like Bucci and Balvin working together is that they push each other to go even further; the new perspectives they bring are fuel to their creative flames, unlocking new potential and new insight.

For Balvin, this years-in-the-making collaboration with Carolina Bucci confirms one thing: this is a creative partnership that was built to last. “To me, I’m always open to create more — I love jewelry and I love the craft of Carolina’s work,” he says. “I want this to be like I do with Jordan — we just keep creating a legacy, working together, always trying to find something refreshing.”